James Owens, who has been Hallowell’s fire chief since 2017, made disparaging social media comments about No Kings protesters in Augusta days prior to requesting the leave.
Ethan Horton
Staff Writer
Ethan covers local politics and the environment for the Kennebec Journal, and he runs the weekly Kennebec Beat newsletter. He joined the KJ in 2024 shortly after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he majored in journalism and political science and was an editor for The Daily Tar Heel. For better or worse, Ethan always wanted to live in Maine.
Posted inElections, Local & State
Meet the candidates running for 2 Winslow Town Council spots
Lee Trahan is running for reelection, and four others are joining the race to fill two at-large seats on the council.
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Posted inElections, Local & State, News
Meet the 3 candidates running for Winthrop Town Council — again
Shannon McDonnell and James Steele currently serve as chair and vice chair of the council, and Bruce Burns is running for a third term after a narrow defeat last year.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Brookfield withdraws application for lower Kennebec dams
The energy giant hoped to renew or amend the licenses of four Kennebec River dams, but plans to sell them to The Nature Conservancy in the next year and extensive ecological conditions in a draft permit approval led Brookfield to withdraw.
Posted inElections, Local & State, News
Meet the candidates running for Oakland Town Council
A longtime councilor and three newer candidates are running for two three-year terms on the council.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Some Vassalboro residents are scrambling as sewer district teeters on default
It’s unclear if the Vassalboro Sanitary District will be able to meet its future financial obligations — putting the homes in the district in danger of seizure while residents struggle to pay their bills.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Here’s the latest on the Kennebec River dams sale announced last week
Impacts on the Somerset Mill, the Skowhegan River Park, flooding and licensing are becoming clearer a week after The Nature Conservancy announced the purchase from Brookfield Renewable Energy.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Hallowell group gets grant for traffic calming at intersection
The Strong Towns Hallowell group hopes to slow cars down near the intersection of Central and Hillcrest streets, where more than 70% of drivers exceed the posted speed limit.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
5 takeaways on the Kennebec River dam sale
While all the impacts of the sale of Brookfield Renewable Energy’s hydroelectric dams to The Nature Conservancy aren’t yet known, here’s what we know so far.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
4 Kennebec River dams to be sold to Nature Conservancy
Brookfield Renewable Energy and The Nature Conservancy agreed to a deal that’s expected to eventually remove the dams.